SAM Magazine—Roxbury, N.H., July 14, 2022—Keith Kreischer will join Granite Gorge ski area as its new general manager. New ownership group Granite Gorge Partnership, LLC (GGP) acquired the mountain—which has been shuttered since 2020—at a foreclosure auction on June 3, 2022, for $430,000 and aims to reopen the property this coming winter.

Of his new role, Kreischer said: “This is my opportunity to pay it forward to the future of this industry and create lasting memories for our team and the community.”

Kreischer got his start in the industry as a one-man park crew at Shawnee Mountain, Pa. Prior to joining Granite Gorge, Kreischer spent eight years at Windham Mountain, N.Y., where he served as the terrain park manager and later the snow surfaces manager as well. He was the terrain park director at Nashoba Valley Ski Area, Mass., before that. Kreischer has also held roles in golf course and restaurant operations and has a bachelor’s degree from the Killington School of Resort & Hospitality Management.  

In his new role, Kreischer is working with owners GGP, comprised of a group of local investors from nearby Keene, N.H., to bring winter and summer activities back to mountain. “We are moving forward rapidly, addressing facility improvements and purchases of new equipment,” said Kreischer. “It is our goal to put safety, inclusion, and affordability at the core of our efforts for reopening to the Monadnock Region.”

The ski area opened as Pinnacle Mountain back in 1959 but closed in the 1970s. It reopened under the name Granite Gorge in 2003 when it was purchased by brothers John and Fred Baybutt. They ran it at varying levels of operation, opening only surface lifts and offering tubing, a learning area, and terrain park for its last three seasons before closing in March 2020 due to Covid, according the John Baybutt. Fred died that summer, and the ski area was shuttered.

Kreischer and his team plan to reopen for winter 2022-23. “However,” he said, “we are being realistic about our timelines and priorities. We have contingency plans in place in the event some preparations are not going to be attainable. GGP understands all too well how eagerly this community wants this place back in operation, and we want to deliver a quality experience when we welcome them back.”

The team is currently working with the state tramway board, engineers, and third-party maintenance providers to overhaul Granite Gorge’s lift infrastructure and bring it up to standard. Other projects include trail reclamation, erosion and water control, lodge and building repairs and maintenance, new snowmaking equipment, new tubing equipment, and a website overhaul.

Kreischer is optimistic about the reopening: “Our team has already accomplished so much in such a tight timeframe; it really shows the fantastic passion behind my ownership team. I am very blessed to have their support and guidance. It's really as close to a start-up scenario that you could get, with a few assets that are pre-existing. Luckily those assets are the critical ones for getting back to operations.”